


Checking In

by astorii



Series: Exes & Woes [7]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: AU, Doves, F/M, KaiShin Exes AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-24 04:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19716589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astorii/pseuds/astorii
Summary: It’s always a good idea to check in on your loved ones.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not and never will own DCMK.

He takes a sucker punch to the gut when he sees a familiar pair of white gloves in Agasa’s hands.  
  
“Kaito gave those to me,” he says, his voice sounding far softer than it should. Absently, his fingers clench the faded cherry red cotton blend of one of his childhood sweatshirts. He doesn’t realize there’s a sense of longing in his gaze until he returns his attention to the article of clothing in his hands. He rubs it with the pads of his thumbs before taking notice of a similar sweatshirt in muted lime green.  
  
“Ah,” says Agasa, humming. “I guess these are the ones that you told me got shrunk in the wash? Well, I’m sure Kaito-kun would be very happy if you put them to good use now.”  
  
“He probably wouldn’t care whether or not I got around to using them considering he broke up with me weeks ago,” he replies, doing his best to keep his voice nonchalant and even to disguise the bitter undertones. “I’m probably better off throwing them away.”  
  
(But those gloves belonged to Kaito’s father. Even if Shinichi never met the man, he at least knows how much Tōichi meant to Kaito.)  
  
Behind him, he hears Agasa choking out a string of incomprehensible garbles in his haste to find something to say. Shinichi might have laughed if he weren’t so focused on whether he should bring the green or red sweatshirt. But maybe he’s just choosing to debate color options to avoid thinking about the pinpricks behind his eyelids—a telltale sign of the oncoming tears that he doesn’t want to shed.  
  
He would _kill_ to take a nap. A very long nap. It’s late. And it’s been a long day. He’s spent from putting on a happy face for Ran today because it would have been selfish to spoil a day of fun for her just because he’s still being a pathetic mess over the breakup—Sonoko’s words, not his obviously—and then solving a tragic murder between two former lovers that reminded him of said breakup. And to top it off, he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to and paid the price.  
  
So now here he is, the Great Detective Turned Six Again.  
  
His voice laced with thin threads of irritation, he says, “Just put them in my bag,” without so much as a backwards glance at the flabbergasted man. The gloves will come in handy—and they’ll be much easier to use than a handkerchief. Haphazardly, he tosses the green sweatshirt over his shoulder after choosing it at random. “This too.”  
  
Shinichi leans back, throwing the other sweatshirt back into the box and pushes it to the back of the closet without caring enough to properly close it. Sliding the door shut behind him, he turns to face Agasa and watches as the man zips up his bag. Right. He probably has enough clothes to tide him over—though they’ll need to be washed when they get to Agasa’s—and he has his laptop and his chargers tucked away in the bag already.  
  
“We should probably get out of here before someone notices,” Shinichi mutters, holding his hand out. Agasa hands him his bag and he throws the strap over his body. “And we should probably work more on my new identity.” With a snort, he adds, “What was I thinking? _Edogawa Conan_? It just sounds so _fake_.”  
  
“So does you having been born in England,” Agasa deadpans.  
  
Shinichi shoots him a glare. “Just because I’d claim to be born there doesn’t mean I’d actually _be_ English.” He orders Agasa to turn the light off for him before continuing. “My father would be a big Conan Doyle fan, which is why I’d be named as such. Perhaps he and my half-American—I say America because Kāsan and Tōsan currently live there so why not?—mother just happened to be in England when I was born.” He shrugs. “They go back to the US with me and then we move to Japan early enough for my Tokyo accent to be believable.”  
  
“You thought this out, haven’t you?”  
  
Believe it or not, he’s coming up with this on a whim with only a bit more thinking than he had done earlier. “Kaito liked to play these stupid games with me,” he admits, pretending that saying his name doesn’t hurt. “We’d come up with cover stories for his disguises—did you know his parents taught him the art of disguising?—and it wasn’t very different from me deducing someone’s background with a glance or two.” Shinichi scratches his cheek. “ _Anyway_ , I’m not sure about what to do with _Edogawa Conan’s_ parents. As far as I’m concerned, there haven’t been any recent accidents in Beika…”  
  
And if he claims that the Edogawas ran into an accident, it would look suspicious if someone thought to look into it only to find that there _were_ no recent accidents.  
  
“Perhaps your parents’ jobs require a lot of moving,” Agasa says. “That could explain why they were in England and then in America and now in Tokyo. And just now they need to move again. It would be close enough to your actual story, right?”  
  
Aha! That’s it!  
  
“Kāsan and Tōsan do move around a lot,” he remarks with a roll of his eyes. Well, it’s not like they don’t have the money for it. “I only stayed here partially because of school.” Shinichi chokes up a bit and his cheeks burn a little as he adds, “And because of Ran. And Kaito.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, we can work out the little details later. Long story short, Edogawa Conan was sent off to live with a family friend so that he could stay in Japan while his parents worked.”  
  
A bit of a stretch, but it at least covers some bases.  
  
“It _is_ best to stick as close to the truth as possible,” Agasa points out as they exit Kudō Manor.  
  
“So,” Shinichi says. “What now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because his coming up without Edogawa Conan in the last installment was still lacking. Thus, he and Agasa actually spend a few more minutes refining it. Also, I just wanted to reveal that Kaito had Shinichi help him with disguises—but, like, it was actually a game before he became Kid—so it will be easier for Shinichi to jump the bridge and realize _Kaitō Kid is_ Kaito _Kid_.
> 
> Of course, Conan’s backstory will be tweaked whenever people start asking the wrong questions. Gotta give him something to panic about. ;)
> 
> Expect an interlude with Kaito at Ch. 3. Hehe.
> 
> So, I wish to ask: should I keep doing mini installments of 3-5 chapters or just one long fic?
> 
> I’m asking because I’m curious as to what you guys prefer. I don’t mind either way. ^ ^


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter marks 150,000 words according to my Statistics!! ^ ^

The panic sets in before he can fall asleep.  
  
It’s probably just past midnight when his clothes finish drying. Thankfully, Agasa had the sense to grab one of Shinichi’s pajama shirts while packing, so the shrunken sleuth had something to wear. He’s quick to change into a clean pair of underwear and child-sized pajamas. He throws his clothes into his bag, uncaring of the wrinkles they will sustain. And when he settles down on the couch, weighed down by a thick quilted blanket, he finds himself shrouded in silence.  
  
And he _panics_.  
  
Shinichi never liked the silence—when things get too quiet, his thoughts grow _too loud_. But then his mind goes blank. The only thing he remembers is thinking about how he should have died because he can’t forget the feeling of _his bones melting and his insides burning_. At some point, he passes out.  
  
Then he wakes up, hours later, to the sound of pounding on the door.  
  
Shinichi jolts up, heart hammering in his chest. This isn’t his house. This isn’t his bed. And last night wasn’t a dream.  
  
_Last night wasn’t a dream_.  
  
“Hakase! Is Shinichi in there with you?” shouts a familiar voice. “I’m worried about him!”  
  
Shinichi stares at the door and blinks. Ran is outside, banging on the door, because she’s worried about him. But why? Sure, maybe he did seem a little off last night when they parted ways, but— _oh_. He had promised to call her in the morning. Feeling a bit apprehensive, he steals a glance at the clock and finds that it’s nearing noon. Shinichi just nods, feeling a little lightheaded.   
  
He jumps up, getting tangled in the blanket, and ends up on the ground. With him, he takes the now-lensless glasses and the bowl of strawberry-flavored candies to the floor. Shinichi lands, making a much louder sound than he had anticipated, and the world seems to fall silent. He hears the sound of a door opening and Agasa asking what all the commotion is about.  
  
“Ran’s here,” he answers hurriedly, extracting himself from the quilt. “I told her I’d call in the morning and _it’s almost noon_.”  
  
“Oh,” says Agasa. When Shinichi gets on his feet and jams the glasses on his face, he notices that the man is fully dressed and holding a very small screwdriver in his hands. They both look at each other when Ran threatens to kick the door down if she has to. “I woke up a while ago. I didn’t want to wake you up.”  
  
“The damage is done,” he mutters, staring down at the mess he made. Turning his attention back to Agasa, he says, “Well? She’ll literally break down your door if you don’t answer in the next minute.”  
  
Agasa crosses the threshold in seconds with a panicked look on his face. Shinichi bites his lip and sinks to the floor. He listens to Agasa unlocking the door and guesses that he isn’t about to invite Ran in as the man has yet to say so. He quietly berates himself on not ducking into the bathroom when he had the chance.  
  
“A-ah, Ran-kun, I wasn’t expecting you!”  
  
“Sorry to disturb you,” he hears Ran say, “but Shinichi hasn’t been answering me. I went to his house to check on him, but he wasn't there. I don’t suppose he’s here…?”  
  
“No.” Shinichi’s nose twitches. _Agasa is a bad liar_. “He, uh, I’m not sure if he came home last night… I don’t remember seeing his lights coming on when I got home from dinner. I assumed he either went to bed early or stayed with you.”  
  
Oh. Yeah. _Yeah_. Brilliant idea, Agasa! Make Ran believe that he’s gone missing or something! She’ll _love_ to hear that.  
  
“Not sure if he…?” Ran sounds _devastated_. Shinichi bites his lip. “He wasn’t with me. And he definitely wouldn’t have gone to Kaito-kun.” Why does she have to mention _him_ of all people? “We were at Tropical Land last night. Then he told me to go home. He seemed upset, but I didn’t want to push him.” She sniffs. _Is she crying_? “I should have stayed with him. I should have walked him home or something. What if he’s—”  
  
“—I’m sure Shinichi is okay,” Agasa says, his voice filled with _false_ cheer. It’s just so _fake_. “Why don’t you go home? If I see him, I”—a pause—“Actually, why don’t you come in?”  
  
The _traitor_. Frozen, Shinichi gapes. Then, he ends up slapping himself in his haste to make sure that the glasses are on his face. He scrambles, feet tangling themselves in the quilt, and watches with wide eyes as Ran enters. Behind her, Agasa appears, looking at him with an apologetic expression and mouthing something:  
  
_Play along_.  
  
“Is it all right if I wait here?” she asks, somehow not noticing him. Shinichi swallows, holding his breath as though she’ll hear it and know it’s him. She’s so close yet so far. “Shinichi told me to stop letting myself into his house uninvited.”  
  
“Of course, of course,” says Agasa. “While you’re here, let me introduce you to someone. Conan-kun?” _What the hell is this man thinking_? “This is Ran-kun, one of Shinichi’s friends that I was telling you about.”  
  
Ran echoes his name, tacking on a question mark. He slips on his own poker face and emerges, keeping his eyes averted. Shinichi silently curses his neighbor as he says a tentative, “U-um, hello,” with a small wave. If he acts nervous enough, maybe she’ll write him off as a shy child? And she knows Shinichi isn’t shy, so maybe—?  
  
“Please excuse him. This is Edogawa Conan. He’s the grandson of an old friend of mine.”  
  
He feels the weight of Ran’s gaze on him. Shinichi feels strangely small under her eyes.  
  
“Edogawa Conan?” She sounds… skeptical. And that’s not good. Didn’t Agasa tell him not to let anyone know? _Shit_. Maybe he should have gone with a different name. “That’s… a strange name.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ran wasn’t supposed to come in until Ch. 4, but I decided to skip to her part and wrote a document that’s nearing 2k words, so I decided I’d probably need three chapters dedicated to her. ^ ^
> 
> Okay. She doesn’t necessarily think he’s Shinichi, but she does think his name is a strange. And she recognizes something about him, but she can’t place it since, you know, people don’t normally look at a kid and be like, “is this a shrunken teenager???” or anything to that effect. Heh.
> 
> Meanwhile, Shinichi has a panic attack of sorts, but we don’t go into detail with that. And then Ran comes in and he’s having his _oh shit_ moment.
> 
> And next chapter is an interlude with Kaito!!! How exciting!! ^ ^


	3. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaito’s interlude!! Takes place the night before The Big Shrink™!!!

Kaito is in the middle of planning his next heist—he’s after the _King’s Topaz_ , a very pretty blue jewel that reminds him of Shinichi’s eyes—when his phone buzzes.  
  
With his concentration now broken, he stares at the device. Curiosity gets the better of him and he sets his pencil down because no one usually texts him at this hour—or at least, not anymore. He half-expects a news notification or an email, so it comes as a bit of a surprise when it actually _is_ a text. The number is unknown, so he opens it with a bit of apprehension. He’d have deleted it without a thought, but the first line had his attention. 

_He tells me that it would do you well_  
_to keep an eye on your Queen tomorrow,_  
_Moonlight Magician-san._  
  
_Even his cunning like the Devil won’t_  
_be able to save him from Fate’s hands._

Oh. It’s just Akako. That’s fine. Though, he’s weirded out at the fact that she somehow has his number. At that, Kaito snorts. She’s always been so cryptic in her words, but… keep an eye on his _Queen_? And _cunning like the Devil_? The use of pronouns… could it be that she speaks of Shinichi? Again, he snorts. There’s no doubt in his mind that Shinichi would be flustered if anyone were to ever refer to him as such.  
  
But back to the more important matters at hand…  
  
Why is it that she thinks Shinichi needs someone to watch over him? Kaito knows his detective—Shinichi isn’t a damsel in distress. Sometimes he does run into trouble, but he’s always been calm in the face of danger. Like that day, two years ago, when Shinichi had been held at knifepoint. Even then he had remained collected despite the terror in his eyes. And not to mention all the close calls with suspects over the years. That being said, surely Shinichi doesn’t need anyone to watch over him…?  
  
Unless she means—  
  
What if Those guys are involved? The same guys—the same _man_ —who killed his father?  
  
Kaito shakes his head. That can’t be it. _There’s no way_. As far as he can tell, Those guys believed that they had killed Kuroba Tōichi and they now believe that they had failed in doing so. The only connection between his father and Shinichi would be Kaito himself. Thus, if Those guys wanted to get to 1412, their best bet would be to go through Kaito. And even then, there’s no need to go after someone as well-known as Shinichi. Snake may lack in subtlety, but surely even _he_ realizes the risks in going after someone like that?  
  
That’s it then.  
  
Shinichi should be safe.  
  
For now, at least.  
  
Kaito leans back in his seat, folding one leg over the other with his plans to infiltrate the museum set aside for now. Now that he thinks about it, it’s been awhile since he last checked in on his detective. Last time, his surveillance dove had followed Shinichi all the way to a little café. A few minutes after Shinichi arrived, Mouri-chan showed up.  
  
He stopped watching the live-feed after that. Kaito had no wish to watch his detective going on a date with someone who wasn’t him.  
  
“But was it a date?” he murmurs, threading his fingers through his fringe. Kaito knows that Shinichi used to like Mouri-chan. They had been longtime friends. And, if he remembers correctly, Shinichi had fallen for her smile the day he met her. It had taken forever to get his detective to reveal exactly how Mouri-chan had captured his heart all those years ago. “Maybe I misunderstood.”  
  
It could have been a friendly little outing. It’s not uncommon for friends to go out together. Even while he and Shinichi were dating, Mouri-chan and his detective would hang out together—just the two of them. Just because it seemed to just be those two doesn’t mean it was a date.  
  
He frowns.  
  
“If he’s moved on,” he says, tilting his head back, “then I can’t stop him. I gave up my right to do anything when I—”  
  
_Poker face_.  
  
Kaito holds out his hand and closes his eyes and _smiles_. The ruffling of feathers. The coo of a dove.  
  
“Do me a favor, Heart, and watch after Shinichi tomorrow for me, ‘kay?”  
  
He strokes her feathers and nudges her softly as she preens under his attention. Heart had proved time and time again to be one of his more reliable surveillance doves. Typically, he reserves them for scoping out heist locations and for eavesdropping on task force meetings and the like. Lately, he had taken to sending them to watch over Shinichi.  
  
It’s the least he can do.  
  
He figures that Shinichi is in no mood to talk—and why would he? Kaito had thrown two years out the window without an explanation. It was a rash decision on his part, one spurred by the Blue Birthday and Clocktower heists. Those guys showed up and he figured that things were starting to get dangerous. And then Shinichi had gotten _so close_ to catching him—close enough to have almost had the chance to _recognize_ him.  
  
Shinichi doesn’t deserve to be a part of this. Unlike Kaito, he doesn’t have the ability to fall back. If things become too much, Kaito could discard the cape and monocle and he would be able to live life normally—or as normal as it can get in these circumstances, moonlighting as a phantom thief and all.  
  
But Shinichi… Shinichi would have to live in fear. Kaito can’t protect him like that if he ever got involved. Shinichi doesn’t have a double-life like he does now.  
  
_And they already took his father_.  
  
Kaito won’t let them take Shinichi too.

•••  


The next night, Kaito does watch the live-feed.  
  
When Ran and Shinichi go into the Mystery Coaster, he calls his dove back.  


Surely Shinichi will be fine for the rest of the night, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To think, Kaito would have _known_ if he just kept watching Shinichi a little longer. :/
> 
> And a btw, the “date” he saw Shinichi and Ran on was from one of the earlier installments. Since he stopped watching the feed, he didn’t see Sonoko show up. Sksksks. And, note, Kaito doesn’t send his doves to watch Shinichi that often, which is why he won’t notice his “disappearance” for a while.
> 
> But, another aside, can we just... let’s ignore the DCMK timeline as we know. Sksksks. Like, if Blue Birthday occurs after the shrink, please don’t tell me. I want to screw around with the timeline. ^ ^
> 
> Basically: We either pretend Aoko’s birthday is _not_ in September as one of the wiki says or we just call it a day because this is fanfiction and I cannot for the life of me piece together a proper timeline, so I’m going to turn a blind eye and pretend that Blue Birthday takes place before the shrink. T^T


	4. Chapter 4

“... Tōsan really liked Sherlock Holmes.”  
  
“I see.” He takes a chance and looks up. She’s watching him, face scrunched up as though there’s something she’s trying to remember. When their eyes meet, she gives him a strained smile. “Well, Conan-kun, what are you doing here?” She side-eyes Agasa. “Hakase’s never mentioned you before.”  
  
_Conan_ gives her his own little smile. What does he say to that?  
  
“Kāsan and Tōsan had to fly to America because of work,” he says. _Stay vague_. _Too many specific details to come up with and too little time to think them through_. “They didn’t want me to come with them because I wouldn’t be able to go to a proper school.” He laughs, but it sounds harsh on the ears. Agasa looks _pained_. “Apparently they’d be moving too much for me to just go to school there.” _Pout_. Most kids would be upset with being separated from their parents, right? “But there was no one to take care of me so they left me with Hakase!”  
  
Just hope she doesn’t ask why he isn’t staying with Agasa’s friend and _Edogawa Conan’s_ apparent grandfather.  
  
She seems to melt a bit, but there’s still something off about her. _Ran doesn’t recognize him, does she?_ But why wouldn’t she? They grew up together. _They’ve known each other since preschool_. Then, she shakes her head and whatever had been bothering her seems to be gone. She tells him, “It’s nice to meet you,” as she smiles. He notices her eyes focusing on the bandage around his head.  
  
Ah. Maybe she’s just curious? Concerned? Hopefully not somehow suspecting that he’s Kudō Shinichi?  
  
“You too, Ran-nēchan!” he chirps. Too sugary, maybe? Should he tone it down? How _do_ kids act nowadays? What’s something that he would never say to her? Don’t kids like to have random little outbursts? _Why is he so bad at this?_ And, without thinking, he blurts out, “You’re really pretty!”  
  
_Oh no_.  
  
“Well, aren’t you the little charmer?” she teases. He looks away, face flushed. It’s not that she isn’t—because she _is_ very pretty—but he just doesn’t _say_ things like that. To anyone.  
  
Conan makes it a point not to look at her. Bemoaning his own existence, he lowers himself to the ground and begins to pick up the scattered pieces of candy. He unwraps one and pops it in his mouth as he listens to Ran asking Agasa what they should do and if they should be worried. It’s actually quite touching.  
  
“It’s just… I think the case reminded him of Kaito-kun, so I thought that maybe he just wanted to be alone. And when he didn’t call, I thought maybe he was up late, but Shinichi _never_ sleeps in this late.” She sighs. “What if he ran into trouble?”  
  
“Well… let’s wait a bit before we do anything,” Agasa says. “If the case reminded him of Kaito-kun, maybe he went to see him?”  
  
Privately, Conan thinks that next time he sees him he’d kick Kaito where it hurts.  
  
“Maybe you’re right,” she relents, sounding skeptical. Conan maneuvers himself a bit and watches as Ran pulls out her phone. “I’ll text Aoko-chan to see if she can check for me.”  
  
That’s…  
  
Conan wonders if Kaito would even care to learn that he may be missing. There’s a little flutter of hope in his chest, but he quashes it down. Should he try to stop her? Does Nakamori even know that Kaito broke up with him? He knows that Nakamori and Ran haven’t been in contact since Kaito broke up with him, but he assumed that was because Ran didn’t want him to feel like she was betraying him or whatever. Ran’s always been like that.  
  
“Aoko-chan! You didn’t have to ca—I missed you too!” Ran exclaims. Then, she seems to sober up as she asks, “Did Shinichi go to Kaito-kun’s house last night? Or this morning?” A pause. “No? Oh. Okay. I was just wondering. No, no! You don’t need to bother Kaito-kun. Thank you! I—yeah! My team and I are having a celebratory dinner this Saturday for the tournament, but we can meet up next weekend? No? That should be fine! I’ll text you. Bye!”  
  
Huh. It sounds like Nakamori doesn’t know then.  
  
“Perhaps Shinichi-kun’s parents decided to surprise him?” Agasa says, not having to assume that Shinichi did not, in fact, visit Kaito. “You know how they get.”  
  
“Yeah, but…” She trails off, drumming her fingers on her thighs. “I just felt like… it felt like it would be awhile before I’d see him again—like I’d _never_ see him again.” Ran laughs and something inside of him breaks a little. “It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”  
  
Behind her back, Agasa and Conan exchange wary glances. For a moment, he thinks to just tell her what happened if only to assuage her worries. But cold eyes flash in his memory and his words die on his tongue. Instead, he looks down. Maybe he and Agasa should have done a bit more talking last night.  
  
“Here’s an idea,” Agasa says. Immediately, the little detective doesn’t like where this is going. “Could you look after Conan-kun for me? I’m afraid that my house is currently unsafe for a child to be wandering around.”  
  
What.  
  
_What_.  
  
“I’m a very busy man,” Agasa continues, putting on a mask of devastation. Conan resists the urge to kick his ankle or something. “I can’t take care of a kid, even if he’s going to be enrolled in Teitan Elementary soon. Surely you’d be able to…?”  
  
Conan looks at Ran, hoping that she’d say no. _Why the hell should he_ —  
  
“Well, having another kid around could help sober Otōsan up,” she says, tapping a finger against her chin. “I certainly don’t mind. It’s not like it’s permanent.” She looks at him and he jumps back, startled. “And, you know, I’ve always wanted a little brother!”  
  
“Great!” Agasa has the _nerve_ to clap his hands together. “It’s settled then!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Aoko doesn’t know Kaito broke up with Shinichi. Kaito hasn’t told her. Ran hasn’t mentioned it because, at some point, Shinichi asked her not to just in case. And, well, Ran’s probably been busy lately. Or maybe she just wanted to give Aoko some space too. Who knows.
> 
> Also... _Conan’s_ trying his best here. He’s... kind of??? thinking things through. Sksksks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a very... erm, quick update because my sense of time seems to have abandoned me! ^ ^

“I thought you wanted to wait for Shinichi-niichan,” he says as Ran takes his hand and guides them off of Agasa’s property. Conan peers over his shoulder to see the man waving at him with an impish grin. He glares.  
  
“I think convincing Otōsan to allow you to stay with us is more important than that deduction geek,” she huffs. He can’t help but feel offended until she adds, “Besides, I trust Shinichi to stay out of trouble,” because then he can’t help but feel _guilty_.  
  
She can’t be farther from the truth. If she just knew who he really is, then…  
  
Would telling her really be so bad? Conan looks up at her; she’s smiling giddily despite her earlier episode and humming the tune to some song he’s probably heard once or twice on the radio. It’s not like he and Agasa _really_ know what those men are capable of—er, well, aside from lacking in remorse at the prospect of killing someone and not hesitating to do so… okay, maybe they _do_ know what those men are capable of—to some degree, at least.  
  
But Ran… Ran is strong. In certain situations, she’s even _fearless_. Surely she could handle herself?  
  
No… it isn’t fair to drag her into the mess this is bound to become. He’s the one who got nosy. It’s probably bad enough that he and Agasa plan to take advantage of her father’s job as a private detective to find leads for those men in black. Just by _living_ with them, she and Kogorō could be in danger.  
  
Which brings him to his next point:  
  
How does he keep them _out_ of danger?  
  
Before he worries about that, he has to make a name for Mouri Kogorō. Conan knows that between him and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, things have been _slow_ for Kogorō—like, really slow. If he wants cases to come pouring in, he needs Kogorō to have a reputation not unlike Kudō Shinichi’s. Privately, he wonders just how dull the man’s deductive abilities are.  
  
So, first thing’s first: keep Edogawa Conan out of the papers.  
  
That should be easy enough! So long as he tries to act as any normal child would, no one will want to pay attention to him. All eyes need to be on Kogorō. The more credibility the man gets, the more cases will come in. And, if more cases come in, surely something about those men will pop up, right? He suspects their list of crimes runs deep—it at least includes extortion and murder, but who’s to say it’s limited to just that?  
  
Next: act like a normal child.  
  
And, well, that’s easier said than done. Even in his first childhood, he had never been labeled _normal_. Aloof, a little ahead of his peers, and absolutely obsessed with the art of deduction…  
  
At the very least, he can distance himself from Kudō Shinichi. If he acts unlike his real self would, there would be a lesser chance of anyone making a connection between them, right? At the moment, the only things separating Edogawa Conan from Kudō Shinichi are a distinct difference in height and a pair of lensless glasses.  
  
“—an-kun?”  
  
“Yes, Ran-nēchan?” he chirps. “‘m sorry, but I didn’t hear you!”  
  
“I was just asking if you could tell me about yourself. Like, how old are you? What’s your favorite color? Did you have any friends back home?” Slyly, she adds, “A _girl_ friend, maybe?”  
  
Um…  
  
“I’m six!” he exclaims. “I _really_ like blue!” And making sure to dim down the childish façade, he says, “I didn’t really have that many friends back home,” which isn’t a lie because most people were put-off by his arrogant and aloof personality.  
  
And no… no girlfriend—ex-boyfriend, yes, but he can’t tell her that, now can he? Ran, being the kind person she is, would not judge him, but a little boy who looks like her childhood best friend is already pushing it, so there’s no need to let her know that tiny tidbit of telling information. And, well, the only girl he has ever wanted to date was Ran. She doesn’t need to know that.  
  
“Well, I’m sure Teitan Elementary will be full of nice kids!” Ran tells him. “But you’re dodging the question, _mister_. Is there a girl you like back home?”  
  
_But why does it matter?_  
  
“Fine, don’t answer me,” she says in a teasing voice. Conan quietly expels a sigh of relief. “You know, I used to like someone. You remind me of him, actually. You look a lot like he did at your age.” She sighs, gazing up at the sky. Conan suddenly has an idea of where this is going. “Or at least, I think I liked him. I feel like I always did, but I never realized until this one day when we were in New York. My friend always teased us about getting married.” She hums. “But he was already dating someone by then.”  
  
Oh. _Oh_.  
  
“Is… is this person Shinichi-niichan?” he asks.  
  
“Yeah,” she replies. “My friend Sonoko was so sure he liked me. Maybe he did once.” Ran laughs. “But honestly? He’s like a brother to me—an emotionally insensitive brother with an ego the size of a planet, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t think I have the patience to date that Holmes nerd.”  
  
And, well, _ouch_ —that kind of stings, really.  
  
“Have you met him before?” she asks, looking down at him. “You seem familiar with him.”  
  
Conan forces himself not to panic. _Don’t do anything too suspicious_. “Hakase introduced us once,” he answers, fighting to keep the hesitance from creeping in. With a pout, he meets her gaze. “Sometimes my parents would let me call him. I guess he doesn’t like me if he didn’t tell you.”  
  
“Nah,” she says. “Shinichi’s always been the type of guy to keep things to himself unless asked. He’s probably just embarrassed.”  
  
Well, she’s not _wrong_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I felt that, even in this AU, Ran and Shinichi falling for each other would be inevitable. But since KaiShin becomes a thing... well, Ran is a sweet girl, so she let them have their happiness, but she’s also strong in that she never let it get her down. ^ ^
> 
> Anywho... regarding the timeline: since DC has a floating timeline with various inconsistencies, we’re just going to ignore those. I’ll try to come up with a timeline that works, but don’t look too deep into it because it’s going to be a hot mess. Sksks.
> 
> Edit: Just deleted a good chunk of this note. Lol. But!!! It has been decided!!! Maybe!!! Next installment is just a oneshot interlude with the Billion Yen Heist.
> 
> The installment after that will be the Black Pearl Heist. And just basically bringing Kid in. So there’s going to be a timeskip. I decided that the episodes I planned to rewrite would only change minutely, so it’d be a waste of time. ^ ^
> 
> And, well, this _is_ a KaiShin Exes AU. We gotta get to the KaiShin. T^T
> 
> Edit 2: lol i forgot hattori and his intro is probably gonna have some major changes to it so i guess we gotta do it skjsksdhakhsjs im so tirEd

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this story!!! ^ ^
> 
> Kudos and comments are encouraged and very appreciated!! ;) But don’t forget to take care of yourself and fulfill any responsibilities you may have forgotten! ^ ^ And happy reading!


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